The use of tools having internal combustion engines have become widespread. For example, chainsaws, line trimmers, and lawn mowers are commonly powered by internal combustion engines. These tools are either manually started by pulling a pull cord, or are equipped with a battery-powered starter. In both manually started and battery-power started engines, a large cranking torque is required to initiate engine firing.
In the prior art, several attempts have been made to provide compression release mechanisms to reduce the initial cranking torque required for engine starting. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,096 issued to Isaacs et al. discloses a compression release system to conserve battery power of a starter assembly.